High speed loom



Sept. 12, 1939. c. L. KENNEDY 2,1723515 HIGH SPEED LOOM Original Filed Jan. 25, 1:966 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNE Sept- 1939- c. KENNEDY 2,172,615

HIGH SPEED LOOM Original Filed Jan. 25, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 12, 1939. c. L. KENNEDY 2,172,615

HIGH SPEED LOOM OriginalFiled Jan. 25, 1933 4 Shee'ts-Sheet 3 Sept. 12, 1939. L, KENNEDY 2,172,615

HIGH SPEED LOOM Original Filed Jan. 25 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Sept. 12, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application January 25, 1933, Serial No. 653,511 Renewed January 15, 1938 29 Claims. (01. 139-145) This invention relates to looms and has for its principal object the provision of a picker mechanism having a capability of much higher speed than the present stick driven pickers.

A further object of the invention is to provide a picker mechanism which will be little affected by changes in humidity and which will require minimum power.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a picker mechanism which can be readily added to any existing lay as a unit and requiring very little changes in the existing mechanism. Still further objects of the invention relate particularly to refinements tending to smooth the operation, insurance that the shuttle will always be in one or the other of the two boxes whenever the machine is stopped for any cause, the bringing to rest of the shuttle and of the picker mechanism with an absence of rebound and positive withdrawal of the binder prior to discharge of the shuttle.

The modern loom operates up to speeds of approximately 165 picks a minute but the tendency is now, and has been for some while past, toward the increase of this speed and experimental machines have been driven over 200 picks per minute but apparently the mechanisms which are capable of this speed are unsatisfactory because of their short life and the excessive wear on the loom driving mechanism and the picker mechanism itself. The picker stick seems ideal for lower speeds but as the speed increases a point is reached short of the speed desired at which the picker stick seems to be incapable of possessing the proper resilience to give smooth action and as a natural consequence the replacements become excessive. In the present device the picker sick is entirely eliminated and is replaced by a metal picker arm of quite short length, the arm being substantially free, that is, it has no pivoting and at the time of discharge is rocking against a single element and is otherwise free with a natural consequence that the action is smooth during the giving of the principal force of the blow. The spring which drives the picker arm is likewise quite free of the other mechanisms having no precise pivot altho constrained to move in a path to yield maximum emciency and to give a smooth coming to rest in both loading and discharge. By making the spring barrel and the picker arm substantially free and by replacing the normal pivotal action by a rocking action, it is possible to discharge the shuttle at a speed greater than the present loom mechanisms can take care of and by lowering the power of the v wardly on the outside of the frame while the verspring it is possible to suit the picker mechanism to any chosen speed.

In the drawings Figure 1 is an end elevation of a loom showing only such part of the mechanism as is necessary 6 for understanding the present invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view looking down on the lay.

Figure 3 is a front elevation.

Figure 4 is a front elevation, partly in section, 10 showing the picker mechanism just prior to receiving the shuttle.

Figures 5 and 6 are front elevations showing respectively the positions of the parts at the moments of cocking, and of loading the mechanism. 15

Figure 7 is a plan view of themechanism shown in Figure 4. I

Figure 8 is a detail view of the trigger and trigger lever assembled with the binder release trigger fingers. 20

Figures 9 and 10 are detail views showing the way in which the main lever of the shuttle throwing mechanism is connected to the connecting rod.

Referring particularly to Figure 1, the frame I0 is of standard construction having the usual feet I I by means of which the frame is fastened to the floor, and a countershaft I2 driven from the main shaft located above but not shown for clearness of illustration. The lay l5 rocks about the pivot l6 and carries the picker mechanism forming the invention.

On the conutershaft l2 the usual stick driving cam is removed and for it is substituted a cam ll of special design driving a roller l8 on 35 the vertical leg IQ of a bell crank lever pivoted as at 20 to a bracket 2| which is secured to the curved portion of the frame shown. The horizontal leg 22 of the bell crank lever extends for- 40 tical leg is is on the inside of the frame as illustrated in order to be in position to engage the cam. H, the latter furnishing all of the power for the picker mechanism comprising the present invention except for the very slight movement needed to cock the picker arm, such movement being provided by the moving shuttle at the end of its travel.

The lay IS on the replenishing end, which is the end shown, has the usual slot 25 to the back wall of which is secured the supporting plate 26 which carries substantially all of the present mechanism, the exceptions being the mechanism heretofore described and the connecting rod 28 which joins the free end of bell crank lever 22 with the free end of what will hereafter be called the main lever numbered 38. As will be noted in Figure 2, the picker head 3| projects upwardly thru the slot 25 coaxial with the axis of the shuttle 33 which is driven from end to end of the lay by the picker mechanism and is frictionally received in each end or box by the usual binder 35 of well known and old type pivoted as at 35 in an adjustable bracket 31. The binder 35 is controlled in the usual way by an adjustable. spring 38 on the protection or safety rod 38,the latter carrying an upwardly extending arm 48 bearing against the free end of the binder 35 so as to press the binder yieldingly against the. shuttle which at such time will be in firm engagement with the oppositely positioned stationary guide 4| forming the rear wall of the so-called box.

The parts just described are all old and well known, the new feature being that a lever 43 is pivoted as at 44 to a bracket 45 preferably secured to the lay by means of one of the usual bolts 46 which secure the standard bracket 41 in place, the latter furnishing a bearing for the safety rod 38. The lever 43 is centrally pivoted in a leather bearing 48 secured to the binder about centrally as, for example, by the screws 58. Any other type of pivot may be used at this point but the leather bearing appears to be very advantageous as it is so little affected by the necessary jars that the binder suifers. Toward the free end of the lay and the pivot and of the hinder the lever 43 ends in a lug 5| lying in the path of the two trigger fingers 54 and The main lever 38 is one arm of a three-armed bell crank lever pivoted to the plate as at 50 and serving to compress the firing spring and to operate a latch or trigger which will release the picker arm so that the latter can discharge the shuttle across the lay. This action is accomplished thru a very important element of the invention which for lack of a better term will be denoted the barrel lever, this element, numbered 5|, being pivoted to the frame as at 53 and having an adjustable link connection with the outer arm 53 of the bell crank lever including the main lever 38 the connection preferably including a toggle mechanism which, as illustrated, includes a socket rod 54 having a ball 55 receivable in an adjustable socket 58 carried by the barrel lever and a similar ball receivable in a stationary socket 51 carried by the free end of the lever 53, the arrangement being such that when the end of the main lever 38 is at the lower limit of its travel the toggle formed of the socket rod 54 and the lever arm 53 will be in straight line position. A spring such as 58 constantly urges the barrel lever 5| to position to raise the free end of the mainl'ever 30 and this urge thru the connecting rod28 and lever l8 holds the roller |8 at all times 'in firm contact with the driving cam I I. I find it convenient to employ an additional spring 8| coiled about the pivot 28 to aid in the holding of the roller I8 against its cam I'I.

At the upper end the barrel lever 5| carries a pin 68 projecting thru a slot 82 in a curved heel 63 forming the bottom or end of the spring barrel 64, this pintllforming the sole support for the barrel. Within the barrel is a relatively heavy helical spring 58 mounted on a rod 81 threaded thru a spring seat washer 88 and having at the other end a hexagonal head II by means of which the tension on the spring 86 can be adjusteda A knife edge II is carried by the rod 61 and'engages a notch 12 in the picker arm 13. The spring 88 is always under tension and conthe strokes.

sequently holds in assembled relation the spring 88, the barrel 84, the barrel lever 5| and the picker arm 13, there being a slot 15 in the barrel lever thru which the spring rod 81 passes.

In bearings 11 and 18 rising from the plate 38 is a trigger shaft I8 carrying a curved latch or trigger plate 80. the function of which is to hold and to release the picker arm 13, the trigger being urged to latch position by means of a spring 8| the free end of which bears against the wall of the lay slot 25. The spring 8| is fairly heavy and in addition to holding the latch against the picker arm and ready to cook the picker it also serves to add considerable friction to the binder 35, accomplishing this purpose by means of the finger 54' which bears against the flattened end 5| of the lever 43 serving to add considerable pressure to the binder whenever the latch is released. Until the latch is released however there is no pressure whatsoever against the end 5| of the lever 43 because the trigger or latch 88 at such time is resting firmly against the picker arm and the lever 43 is consequently free of pressure from the finger 54', the latter always moving with the trigger 80.

Also mounted on the trigger shaft 18 but moving entirely independently of the trigger 88 and the finger 54' is a bell crank lever, the vertical arm of which carries the finger 55' and the horizontal arm 84 having an adjustable connection such as 85 with a link 86 the lower end of which preferably carries a stud 86 (see Fig. 8) which stud is guided in a slot 81 and the head of which a is engaged and moved downwardly by the lever 88 which is the third arm of the bell crank lever pivoted at 50, the other two arms being the main lever 30 and the toggle lever 53. A light spring 88 may be used to keep the horizontal arm 84 elevated in order to prevent the finger 55 from the picker head is at a definite level prior to each blow and the connection is broken instantly upon firing. At the time of firing the only connection of any kind between the picker arm and the barrel lever is thru the knife edge 88 but immediately upon initiating the shuttle disharge action the picker arm rolls on the barrel lever, the proximate edge 82 of the picker arm being plane while the adjacent edge 83 of the barrel lever. is curved on an arc struck from a center beyond the spring but in its axis. This arcuate form is highly advantageous as it eliminates jars and serves to dampen the action at the end of can all pass centrally thru the picker am, this There is a very similar action begiving a considerably better action and allowing the picker arm. The simple form illustrated appears to have practically the same advantages however because the slot 15 in the barrel lever is of very slight extent in either event. The particular picker head illustrated is quite advantageous. In this the cup 96 instead of carrying the leather carries a solid rubber cushion 91 at the forwa: .1 end of which is a metal ferrule 98 in which is mounted the usual leather 99 which rests firmly against the solid rubber connection. The advantage of the rubber is that by having this rubber as shown wear on the shuttle point is eliminated in case of inaccuracy in binder adjustment, the rubber readily yielding to take care of any reasonable irregularity. The leather however is seemingly necessary as it takes the wear very nicely and this the rubber seems unable to do. The resiliency of the rubber in addition seems to add materially to the speed of the throw of a shuttle, the leather having practically no resilience.

In applying my unit to an existing'machine the picker head, being larger in diameter than the usual slot in the lay, is removed merely by taking off the single nut I and the unit is inserted in the slot by lifting the unit up into place and the base plate 26 is then secured to the wood of the lay I by the simple screws IN. The picker head may now be secured in place and should be adjusted so as to be very accurately centered, this being facilitated by the fact that the holding bolt I02 which rests against the metal cup 96 is a bit smaller in diameter than the hole in the base of the metal cup and is also appreciably smaller in diameter than the hole I04 in the end of the picker arm 13. Once put in place,how-

ever, this adjustment is complete and in factno adjustment whatsoever of the unit is necessary in taking it oil and replacing it on a definite loom except for the tightening of the spring by means of the head I0. The usual cam on the counter-' shaft I2 is removed and replaced by the cam II. The bell crank lever is installed on the bracket 2!, which usually must be added, and then the bell crank arm 22 is connected to the bell crank arm 30, which is the main lever, by means of the connecting rod 28 which may be of any desired form but which conveniently consists of a member having at each end a knife edge I05 integrally secured to a U-member I06 having laterally extending lugs I0! and also having a tubular portion I08 tapped to receive the threaded ends I09 of the rod 28. The lever arm, whether 30 or 22, is received within the U portion I06 and may conveniently be detachably secured thereto by a simple U spring such as IIO, the base or connecting portion III resting upon the rod such as 30, then passing beneath pins I I2 on the rod and the free ends resting upon the two lugs I01 which may be slightly curved to receive them altho this is not necessary because the natural springiness of the wire will hold these in place and the free ends of the wire will of course. press the knife edge I05 firmly against the notch in the arm such as 30. The length of the connecting arm is adjusted so as to be tight when the main lever 30 is at the end of its stroke, the toggle is straight and the action of the roller I8 is at its most distant point from the axis of the countershaft I2, that is, when the cam I1 is at its extreme throw The main spring 66 is now tightened to a chosen strength which will always be appreciable and which will vary with the speed desired, that is, the spring should be tightened to a greater extent as the speed of the loom is increased. The

next adiustment is to set the nut 85 which rests against the manually operable finger release portion 84, this being a horizontal arm of the bell crank lever. This adjustment should be so made that the toggle 5354 is straight the trigger 80 is just free of the picker arm 13. This adjustment once made need never be altered as the cross actions of the trigger and picker arm give no opportunity for wear. In other words the transverse action of the trigger with respect to the picker arm keeps the rubbing surfaces at all times sharp.

The action of the device is as follows starting with the shuttle at the far end of the lay: At such time the picker head is at a point just short of its rearward travel and the trigger or latch 80 is resting against the side of the picker arm, the latter preventing the trigger from operating. The finger 54, moving at all times with the trigger, is entirely free of the binder operating lever 43 which latter is at this time spaced somewhat from the opposite finger 55' this being due to the presence of the spring 89. The free end of the main lever 30 is elevated and the main spring 66 is holding the spring barrel 64 against the barrel lever 5| and also holding the barrel lever against the .picker arm I3. The spring 66 is aided in such action by the strong but relatively much weaker spring 59 which preferably circles the pivot 52 bearing against a pin II5 on the spring lever and against a stationary stop IIB rising from the plate. At this time the sole contact between the picker arm and between the barrel lever and the spring barrel is in line with the rod 61. The spring barrel 64 in turn is pressing heavily against the upper guide I20 and entirely free of the lower guide I2I, both of these guides being surfaced with leather or similar material. The spring 8I holds the trigger 80 quite firmly against the picker arm but at this time has no other effect. The shuttle is now thrown by the opposite picker mechanism thru the shed and toward the uncocked picker head. When the shuttle reaches the box the binder acts thru the already existing or prior mechanism and practically brings the shuttle to rest in the desired position but the adjustment of spring 38 is purposely made just a bit weaker than usual in order to insure that the shuttle shall reach the picker head with suflicient momentum to give a slight blow to the leather cup 99, sufficient to drive the picker head back the very slight distance required to cook the picker head, that is, to permit the trigger 80 under urge of itsspring ill to snap into place and perform two simultaneousfunctions, one to lock the picker head in rearmost position and the other to apply an additional force to the binder 35 thru the lever 43, this sudden additional pressure on the binder making a very positive lock for the shuttle and preventing any rebound of that member. The tendency of thepicker head is to move still farther back and to rebound but this tendency is completely dampened out by the fact that while the spring barrel can move rearwardly with the upper ends of the barrel lever 5| and the picker arm 13, the leather lining of the upperguide I20 severely resists this movement and absolutely bars any rebound. The shuttle has previously been locked into position and while the picker head moves slightly back of the locked position of the shuttle, the picker head moves forward under the urge of the very heavy spring 66 at a slow rate, the snubbing action, of the guide I20 not being suflicient to bar action of the barrel and consequently of the picker head. The harness now acts to reverse the shed, the reeds now operate, and the mechanism is in readiness to start its cycle, beginning with the lowering of the outer end of the main lever 30 by means of the cam i1. Such movement causes the descent'of the three connected levers 30, 53 and'88. The barrel 64 and the therein contained main spring 68 move forwardly with the retaining washer 68 moving somewhat downwardly.

The barrel lever turns about its pivot 52 under the urge of the toggle 53-54'and rocks against the arcuate surface 95 of the spring barrel, thus. compressing the spring 88 since the head is held against movement by its contact with the picker arm which remains stationary during the loading of the spring. This action continues while the toggle straightens at which time the spring as is fully loaded. The descent of the forward sharply as the spring 56 is released. The

spring barrel 64 due to its rocking as the barrel lever 5i moves forwardly, is in very firm contact with the lower guide i2! and this frictional engagement prevents recoil as the greater the pressure on the guide III the greater the friction. Consequently as the picker head thus moves sharply forward the point of engagement between the arc 95 and the straight edge 94 on the barrel lever and similarly the point of contact between the are 93 on the barrel lever and the straight face 92 of the picker arm are both appreciably above the level of the rod 61 forming a gap between these three parts at the level of the rod 61. There is'no slap action at all because both parts roll on the adjacent surfaces. However, as the picker head'moves forward this rolling causes the head ill on the rod 61 to move upwardly and the two arcs cause an increase of the distance between the head 10 and the spring seat 68, thus compressing the spring.

Such compression resists powerfully further forward movement of the picker head and the guide III also adds its effect to the snubbing action because the further compression of the spring 66 increases greatly the friction of the barrel 64 against the guide IN. The compression of the spring 66 at the end of the stroke causes tendency of the parts to return and this tendency is resisted strongly at first by the friction of the barrel against the bottom guide. Inasmuch as the barrel rises on return stroke this friction is very rapidly eliminated and the parts are then under the sole urge of the spring 59 and the backward movement of the barrel causes the barrel to rise against the guide I so that the friction between the barrel and the upper guide snubs the return movement so that there is scarcely any rocking engagement between the barrel lever 5| and the picker arm or barrel bottom 95 below the axis of the spring. The parts are therefore brought to rest with a very smooth rocking action which takes place with extreme rapidity and without any jar whatsoever.

. What I claim is: i I

1. In a spring dlscharge mechanism, a discharge member, a pivoted lever, aspring seat while absolutely preventing any rapid movement having a cylindrical face resting against said pivoted lever, a spring pressing against said spring seat, ,means engaging said discharge,

mechanism and the free end of said gj ring, means for moving said pivoted lever to compress the spring and trigger mechanism 'forfrelea'sing the discharge member, whereby upon release of the discharge member the pivoted lever will have rolling action with the spring seat.

2. In a picker mechanism, a picker arm, a pivoted lever having rolling contact with the picker arm, a spring, trigger means for holding the picker arm and means engaging said picker f arm while so held for compressing said spring.

3. In a picker mechanism, in combination, a

pivoted lever, a spring seat having a cylindrical 1 face engaging said lever, a spring engaging said seat, a picker arm having rolling contact with the pivoted lever, and means connecting the free oted member, a spring barrel engaging said meme ber, a -spring within said barrel, means for moving the pivoted member about its pivot to compress the spring within the barrel and a recoil damping mechanism including a friction element in the path of the barrel as it moves with said pivoted member.

5. In comb nation, a pivoted lever, a spring resting against said lever and movable with said lever about the pivot of the lever, means for holding the free end of the spring, means for moving the lever about its pivot to compress the spring and snubbing means ..located on opposite sides of said spring for damping recoil of the spring.

6. In a picker mechanism, a lay, a supporting member secured to said lay,.a bell crank lever pivoted on said supporting member, a picker arm, a spring for operating said picker arm and a link forming with one arm of said bell crank lever a toggle positioned so that when the spring is fully loaded by movement of the toggle the toggle is in straight line position whereby there is no tendency of the other arm of the bell crank lever to move about its axis at the moment the picker arm is discharged by its springs.

7. A picker arm for a high speed loom comprising an elongated member having means at one end for carrying a picker, fulcrum means at the opposite end, said member having a slot down its middle portion, and having a smooth bearing surface, on one side normal to said slot, and a fulcrum means on the opposite side.

8. In a high speed loom having a lay, a picker mechanism comprising a lever member pivoted on said lay, and a picker carrying member on one side of and carried by said lever member said members-being spring pressed together and having rolling engagement with each other.

9. The device of claim 8 in which one of said members has a convex surface whereby one member may roll on the other.

10. In a high speed loom, a slotted lever having bearing surfaces on opposite sides, a shoe carried by the lever and having a curved surface bearing against the bearing surface on one side of the lever, a slotted picker armcarried by the lever and bearing against the bearing surface on the other side of said lever, and spring pressed retaining means passing thru the shoe, the lever and the arm whereby the lever is compressed between the shoe and the arm and whereby the arm and the lever are normally held in a 2,179,015 predetermined relative position to which theyreturn after each disturbance of the picker arm caused by throwing and receiving the shuttle.

11. In a picker mechanism, a picker arm having on one side an elongated bearing surface, a pivoted lever having a smooth bearing surface for engaging the bearing surface of the arm, one of said surfaces being curved whereby the arm may roll on the lever, spring means for causing the arm and lever normally to engage on a.predetermined line transverse of the curved surface andv for resisting said rolling action and the separation of the arm and lever and means for separating the arm and lever against the action of the spring means.

12. In a picker mechanism, a compound picker arm comprising two substantially parallel links, spring means for yieldingly holding said links together, one of the links being pivoted at one end and adapted to oscillate thru an are between a forward and rearward limit, the other link being carried by the first mentioned link and having at one end an open fulcrum connection with the first mentioned link and at the other end means for supporting a picker, means for latching the picker carrying link at the rearward limit, means for'moving the pivoted link to its forward limit thereby storing energy in said spring means, and means for releasing the latching means upon the pivoted link reaching its forward limit, said links having rolling engagement one with the other whereby eliminating impact.

13. In a loom, a pivoted arm, a picker arm arranged to rock on said pivoted arm, a spring connected to resist relative movement of said arms, a trigger for holding one of the arms stationary, means for moving the other arm to store shuttle discharge power in said spring, and means operated by said arm moving means for operating the trigger to release the stationary arm whereby the picker arm is discharged.

14. In a loom, shuttle discharge mechanism including a spring pressed picker arm, locking means for holding said arm against movement during loading of the spring, mechanism for storing energy in the spring to load the same while the arm is so held against movement, means for at will moving the locking means out of arm holding position to prevent loading of the spring whereby permitting adjustments in the loom shed without any fear of discharge of the shuttle.

15. In a loom, a lay, a shuttle discharge mechanism carried by said lay including a spring pressed picker arm, a main lever, a barrel lever for compressing said spring, linkage connecting said main lever to the barrel lever, said linkage including a toggle joint connected to and actuated by the main lever to straight line position to compress the spring, at which position the spring is fully loaded, whereby upon release of the picker arm todischarge the shuttle the main lever is under no urge to rotate about its pivot'.

16. In a picker mechanism, a lever pivoted to oscillate on a fixed axis, a picker arm, and means including a spring for holding the picker arm against the lever to thus form the sole support for the picker arm and cause the arm to oscillate therewith in its shuttle discharge operations.

17. In a loom, a picker arm, a spring for discharging said picker arm, means connecting said spring and said picker arm, said means being movable with the spring and also movable with the picker arm, a pivoted lever engaging said spring and having rolling engagement with the picker arm and cooperating with said connecting means to form the sole support for the picker arm.

18. In a loom, a lever, a picker arm supported on the lever and having rolling engagement therewith, a spring pressing the arm and lever together, means connecting the free end of the spring with the picker arm, means for holding the picker arm and means for moving the lever when the picker arm is so held thereby to store energy in the spring for discharging the picker arm.

19. In a loom, a support pivoted to oscillate adjacent the shuttle box, a picker arm carried by the support and having rolling engagement therewith and spring means tending to constrain the arm to move with the sup; wt in a shuttle operating path.

20. In a picker mechanism, a picker arm, a picker arm support, said support and arm having rocking engagement whereby the arm may rock a limited amount .n the support, spring means for causing the arm and support normally to contact on a predetermined line across the engaging surfaces and for resisting said rocking action and resisting the separation of the arm and support at the line of contact and means for causing said rocking action from said line of conto store shuttle discharge energy in the spr ng means.

21. In a loom, a lay, a binder at one end of the lay, a spring for urging the binder against the shuttle, a spring pressed picker, a trigger for the picker, and spring means operatively connected to the trigger for exerting additional pressure on the binder at the moment the trigger moves into cocking position. v

22. In a spring actuated discharge mechanism, a pivoted lever, a spring hearing at one end against said lever, a discharge mechanism bearing against the opposite side of said lever, a .rod hearing at one end against the far end of the spring and bearing at the other end against the discharge mechanism, a trigger for holding the discharge mechanism, means for moving the pivoted lever away from the trigger held discharge mechanism and toward the far end of the spring to load the spring, and means for releasing the trigger to cause the discharge mechanism to move toward the spring lever.

23. A spring discharge mechanism including a picker arm and a supporting arm therefor,

said arms having rolling engagement, a spring and the other retaining member bearing against the other arm, said spring and said rod with the retaining members serving normally to clamp the arms together in a predetermined position whereby when the arms are rolled to a different relative position picker discharge energy is stored in the spring.

24. A picker mechanism unit for attachment to a lay of usual construction, consisting of. a base readily removable from the lay, a spring lever pivoted to said base, a spring resting against said lever, a picker arm adapted to project through the slot of the lay and having a head substantially in line with the axis of the shed, said picker arm having rolling contact with said lever, a rod operatively connecting the free end of the spring with the picker arm, a trigger pivoted to said base, and means pivoted to said base to load said spring and to release said trigger.

25. In a shuttle driving and receiving mechanism, a picker head, means for driving said head to discharge a shuttle, said means including a spring for returning the head to shuttle discharging position after each discharge action, a latch for locking the head in said position during loading of the spring, means normally holding the latch out of locking engagement, a shuttle binder, means urging the binder inward to resist and slow down the movement of the shuttle as the shuttle approaches the picker head, and means cooperating with the latch for increasing the binder pressure on the shuttle upon movement of said latch to locking engagement.

26. In a loom, a lay adapted to receive a shuttle, a picker and supporting means therefor, a

spring for actuating the supporting means to discharge the shuttle from a predetermined position on the lay, a trigger adapted to lock said picker supporting means in said position during loading of the spring, spring means for returning said supporting means to a point just short of said position after each discharge of the shuttle, at which point said supporting means holds the trigger in non-locking engagement and means to discharge the shuttle against the picker to cause the pickersupporting means to move to said position and into locking engagement with said trigger, whereby the trigger remains uncocked until the shuttle strikes the picker thus preventing loading of the spring in case the shuttle fails to strike the picker.

27. A spring actuated shuttlef discharge mechanism comprising a picker arm support having anelongated bearing surface, a picker arm carried by the support and having a cooperating surface, one of said surfaces being cylindrical thereby providing rolling engagement of the arm with the support and spring means pressing the arm against the support, and tending to hold the arm and support in a predetermined relative position and whereby movement to a diflerent relative position stores shuttle ,discharge energy in the spring.

28. A shuttle discharge mechanism for looms comprising a supporting arm having a bearing surface along a substantial portion of its length, a picker arm, yielding means pressing the picker arm against the supporting arm, the engaging surfaces of the arms being smooth bearing surfaces, one of said surfaces being cylindrical whereby the yielding pressure causes the' picker arm to roll to a predetermined position on the supporting arm, means for moving the arms to a different relative position thereby to store picker discharge energy in said yielding means.

29. A shuttle discharge mechanism for looms comprising a lever, means for mounting the lever to oscillate through a limited arc, a picker arm carried 'by the lever, energy storing means yleldingly holding the picker arm on the lever so that the arm when unrestrained oscillates with the lever about the axis of the arc, releasable means for locking the picker arm against movement from one limit of said arc, means for moving the lever from said limit to store energy in the storing means while the arm is so held and means for releasing the locking means thereby to permit the arm to snap forward under action of the energy storing means.

CHARLES L. KENNEDY. 

